LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 12/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11,27-28. While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed."He replied, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."

Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian monk and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 31 on the Song of Songs (©Cistercian Fathers series)
«Blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled» (Lk 1,45)
Our ancestors possessed only shadows and images, whereas the truth itself shines on us by the grace of Christ present in the flesh, so also no one will deny that in relation to the world to come, we still live in the shadow of the truth, unless he wishes to deny what the apostle Paul asserts: "our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect;" (1Cor 13,9) or when he says: "I do not reckon myself to have got hold of it yet. " (Phil 3,13). Why should there not be a distinction between him who walks by faith and him who walks by light? Hence the just man lives by faith (Hab 2,4; Rom 1,17) - the blessed rejoices in the vision; the holy person here below lives in the shadow of Christ... That the faith is shadowy is a blessing, it tempers light to the eye's weakness and prepares the eye for the light for it is written: "God cleansed their hearts by faith." (Acts 15,9). Faith, therefore, does not quench the light but protects it. What it may be that the angel sees, is preserved for me by the shadow of faith, stored up in its trusty breast, until it is revealed in due time. If you cannot yet grasp the naked truth is it not worthwhile to possess it wrapped in a veil? The Lord's Mother herself lived in the shadow of faith, for she was told: "Blessed are you who believed," (Lk 1,45). Even the body of Christ was a shadow for her, as implied in the words: "The power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow,» (Lk 1,35). That is no mean shadow which is formed by the power the Most High. Assuredly there was power in the flesh of Christ that overshadowed the Virgin, since by means of the envelope of his vivifying body she was able to bear his majestic presence, and endure the unapproachable light, something impossible to mortal woman. That was power indeed by which every opposing might was overcome. Both the power and the shadow put the demons to flight and became a shelter for men: an invigorating power surely, a shadow radiating coolness! We therefore who walk by faith live in the shadow of Christ; we are fed with his flesh as the source of our life.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Break Arab-Israeli deadlocks with water accords.By Karen Mneimne, El - Hassan Bin Talal and George Soros 11/10/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 11/08
Aoun: Syrian Forces Withdrew, But Dependence on Americans, Saudis ...Naharnet
Baddawi Bolsters Security to Keep Islamists Out-Naharnet
U.S. Approves Additional $825,000 for De-Mining-Naharnet
Report: Israeli Warplanes Rushed to Lebanon Border Area Over Suspicious Jet-Naharnet
Report: UNIFIL Finalizes Deployment Plan in Lebanese Part of Ghajar-Naharnet
Suleiman Accepts Syrian Troop Move Explanation-Naharnet
Issue of Syrian Deployment on Lebanon's Border Clarified-Naharnet
Prominent March 14 Christian Figure to Visit Tehran, Report-Naharnet
U.S. Unhappy Syria Held Americans without Notifying Washington-Naharnet
Adwan for Lebanese-Syrian Border Control-Naharnet
Saniora Appreciates Aoun-Naharnet
Grenade Attack in Ain el-Hilweh Wounds Two-Naharnet
March 14 for Deploying Army Along Borders with Syria-Naharnet
Sison Appreciates Lebanon's Efforts in the Issue of Two Missing Americans-Naharnet
Aoun in Tehran Sunday ... Fears of Targeting Him-Naharnet
US journalists claim cabbie took them to Syria by force-(AFP)
Bush speaks - and stocks take another beating-(AFP)
Lebanon to complain to UN about 'Israeli threats' to destroy villages-Jerusalem Post
Report: UNIFIL Finalizes Deployment Plan in Lebanese Part of Ghajar-Naharnet
Beirut accepts Syrian explanation for troop moves-AFP
Two wounded in Lebanon camp blast: Palestinian official-AFP
Lebanon lays claim to favourite Israeli dish-Independent
Cabinet seeks common front on Syrian troop move-Daily Star
Husseini leads calls for creation of 'civil state' in Lebanon-Daily Star
Najjar presents draft law to abolish death penalty-Daily Star
Bombing wounds two people at Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp-Daily Star
Zaki says Sleiman boosted refugee camp security-Daily Star
Fadlallah urges Lebanese to support resistance-Daily Star
Israelis carry out operation near Blue Line-Daily Star
New head of USAID mission has extensive experience in global danger zones-Daily Star
Italy inaugurates solar heating system in Deir al-Ahmar-Daily Star
Jumblatt helps launch new group to venerate his father-Daily Star
Lebanese banks cash in on worldwide turmoil-Daily Star
Bahia Hariri says students are 'top priority'-Daily Star
15 percent of children sexually abused: poll-Daily Star
Politicians provide ample fodder for television comedy-(AFP)
Another one of Beirut's many unrequited lovers-Daily Star
 

Prominent March 14 Christian Figure to Visit Tehran, Report
Naharnet/A prominent March 14 Christian figure will visit Tehran before the end of this month, As-Safir newspaper reported on Saturday.
It said that former President Emile Lahoud would also visit the Iranian capital in the next few weeks. The Islamic Republic has invited several March 8 figures to the Iranian capital in the past months. Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun will head to Tehran on an official visit Sunday, during which he will hold talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and senior Iranian officials. Beirut, 11 Oct 08, 09:58

Aoun: Syrian Forces Withdrew, But Dependence on Americans, Saudis Continued
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun said Saturday at a rally to commemorate members killed in the Syrian-led military offensive that ousted him from power on Oct. 13, 1990 that Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon in 2005, "but dependence on Americans and Saudis continued."
"The Syrians withdrew, but dependence on Americans and Saudis continued," Aoun said in his speech to mark the 18th anniversary of the October 1990 war.
"Taef Accord put Lebanon in a Syrian-Saudi condominium," he charged. Aoun accused the parliamentary majority March 14 Forces of "crippling the government and its institutions so they could monopolize power." He said "May 7 events," a reference to Hizbullah's takeover of West Beirut, "were the result of provocative decisions taken against the Resistance." Aoun warned there will be "no reforms without a conscious majority that will combat corruption and bring wrongdoers to account." "Our view toward reform should be comprehensive and the manner of carrying out this reform certainly goes through parliamentary elections," he added.
Aoun said that "had the ruling majority moved toward a settlement from the beginning we would have spared ourselves two years of conflict and bloodshed."
Aoun returned from 15 years of exile in France in May 2005, weeks after Syria was forced to pull out troops from Lebanon and end its political domination of the country. Beirut, 11 Oct 08, 18:00

U.S. Approves Additional $825,000 for De-Mining
Naharnet/Washington announced it will provide $825,000 in new funds for de-mining programs in Lebanon, said a press release by the U.S. embassy Saturday.
This brings the total U.S. contribution for nonproliferation, antiterrorism, de-mining activities in Lebanon to approximately $4.7 million in 2008 and more than $16.0 million since 2006, it said. The United States contributes to the de-mining and ordnance removal carried out by the joint Lebanese army and United Nations Mine Action Coordination Center - South Lebanon (MACC-SL). The U.S. Government has expanded its humanitarian clearance program in Lebanon to reduce the dangers to civilians posed by landmines and other unexploded ordnance. U.S. Government funding goes toward de-mining, victim assistance programs and a unique program to identify and remove unexploded underwater ordnance, the statement said. The U.S. contribution to MACC-SL has supported the clearance of more than 38 million square meters in southern Lebanon, it added. In addition, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the World Rehabilitation Fund (WRF), assists landmine and war survivors through the Azour Development Center Cooperative and the Landmine Victims Center in the Jezzine District. The cooperative has helped more than 1,594 people since 2002. USAID has contributed $6 million to the cooperative. Beirut, 11 Oct 08, 19:08

Suleiman Accepts Syrian Troop Move Explanation
Naharnet/Lebanese President Michel Suleiman has accepted that Syrian troop movements near the border between the two countries are aimed at tackling smuggling, according to a statement received by AFP on Saturday. Suleiman contacted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad about the deployment and was told the moves are a continuation of "steps by the Syrian authorities to counter every kind of smuggling," the presidential statement said. The statement was issued in the wake of a cabinet meeting on Friday night which lasted more than five hours. Prime Minister Fouad Saniora had during the meeting emphasized "the need for security and military coordination" between the two countries on the issue of smuggling, the official National News Agency said. In September, the Lebanese army revealed the deployment of 10,000 Syrian special forces in the Abboudiyeh region along the border between Lebanon and Syria. The move followed a Damascus summit between Assad and Suleiman in August during which it was agreed that the neighbors would take formal steps to demarcate their borders arising from a decision to normalize their relations for the first time after decades of tension. Members of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority in Lebanon say Syria could be setting the stage to return its forces to their country. The U.S. State Department said on Monday that Washington was concerned about the Syrian troop movements and warned Damascus against interference in Lebanon. Damascus on Wednesday defended its troop deployments as being necessary to combat smuggling and infiltration by saboteurs. Syria, a longtime powerbroker in its smaller neighbor, withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2005 after a deployment of three decades.(AFP) Beirut, 11 Oct 08, 13:25

Report: Israeli Warplanes Rushed to Lebanon Border Area Over Suspicious Jet
Naharnet/The Israel Air Force has reportedly rushed fighter jets to the border with Lebanon after a suspicious aircraft was detected approaching its airspace.
Two jets and an attack helicopter were rushed to the border after an unidentified aircraft was spotted flying very close to the border, Jerusalem Post daily said.
The aircraft, together with ground forces, conducted searches on the ground and shortly later returned to base after the plane turned around and flew back north into Lebanon, it added. The Israeli Army was on a high level of alert throughout the country during the holiday and particularly in the north, where intelligence officials have said it is possible that Hizbullah will carry out a cross-border attack to avenge the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh earlier this year.
The Jerusalem Post reported that while the IDF is concerned that Hizbullah will try to kidnap soldiers, current fears are that militants will cross into Israel, fly an explosives-laden drone or infiltrate a border community like Shlomi and barricade themselves inside a home with civilian residents.
The defense establishment is concerned that Hizbullah will use the holidays, as well as the switchover in government - from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Kadima Party head Tzipi Livni - to launch an attack, the report added. Intelligence assessments, the report said, have raised the possibility that Hizbullah believes that with Olmert heading a transitional government and Livni still working on forming a coalition, neither one will want to respond harshly to an isolated Hizbullah attack and risk another war. Beirut, 11 Oct 08, 09:06

U.S. Unhappy Syria Held Americans without Notifying Washington
Naharnet/The U.S. State Department said Friday it expressed its concern to the Syrian authorities that they had held two American journalists for several days without notifying the U.S. government. However the State Department said it was also happy that Americans Taylor Luck and Holli Chmela are safe and "appear to be in good health" after Syria arrested them for allegedly entering Syria illegally through Lebanon and then released them. The pair were turned over to the U.S. embassy in Damascus early Friday before they traveled on to Jordan. "We have expressed our concern to the Syrian government that the two Americans were held for several days and that they (the Syrians) did not notify us," said Gordon Duguid, a State Department spokesman. Although Syria is not party to agreements requiring it to notify Washington in such circumstances, Duguid said, "it would have been better had they notified us they were holding our citizens in order to resolve this issue more quickly." On arriving back in Amman early Friday, Luck, 23, and Chmela, 27, told their employer the Jordan Times they had been abducted by a taxi driver and accomplice who were supposed to take them legally across the border. They were arrested by the Syrian authorities for illegally entering the country and held for eight days while they were being interrogated. They were turned over to the U.S. embassy in Damascus early Friday before traveling on to Jordan. Luck and Chmela had arrived in Beirut on holiday on September 29. The pair said they had intended to obtain visas at the Lebanese-Syrian border crossing and to complete their holiday in Syria before returning to Jordan by land.(AFP) Beirut, 11 Oct 08, 09:20

Adwan for Lebanese-Syrian Border Control
Naharnet/MP George Adwan on Friday called for coordination between the governments of Syria and Lebanon to implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. Adwan, talking to reporters after a meeting with Premier Fouad Saniora, said "we are trying to open a new chapter of relations between the governments of Lebanon and Syria." "Border control in line with UNSCR 1701 is a good intro to coordination between the two governments," he added.
Adwan also said the Lebanese Forces is for speedy reconciliation with the Marada Movement "but we feel that the effort is stumbling." Beirut, 10 Oct 08, 21:25

Husseini leads calls for creation of 'civil state' in Lebanon
Daily Star staff/Saturday, October 11, 2008
BEIRUT: The Civil Center for National Initiative launched a political declaration on Friday calling for the creation of a "civil state" in Lebanon. Former Parliament Speaker Hussein al-Husseini, a member of the center, read the declaration at a news conference at the Le Bristol Hotel in Beirut.
"There will be no real state in Lebanon, unless this state is a civil one which treats all Lebanese as equals irrespective of their confessional identities," Husseini said.
He added that the Lebanese would not be able to live in peace with their surroundings unless they were capable and ready to face any aggression.
Husseini, who helped steer efforts that reached the Taif Accord of 1989, said that the accord was an attempt to overcome the confessional system in Lebanon, unlike last May's Doha accord "which enforced the role of political parties at the expense of the state." "The Taif Accord ended the wars between militias and tried to overcome the confessional system ... The Doha Agreement came to take note of the renewal of such wars," he said, referring to the May clashes between opposition militants and pro-government gunmen. The news conference was attended by MP Pierre Daccash, former Minister Issam Khoury, former lawmakers Salah Harake and Mahmoud Ammar, as well as other members of the center. - The Daily Star

Najjar presents draft law to abolish death penalty
Daily Star staff/Saturday, October 11, 2008
BEIRUT: Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar presented a draft law to the Cabinet on Friday that would abolish the death penalty and replace it with life in prison at hard labor. In a press release issued by the Justice Ministry's media office, Najjar called for revoking the articles of the country's criminal law which allowed courts to issue death sentences. "Science has proved that there is no causal relationship between ... crime and the presence or absence of the death penalty," Najjar said, adding that he hoped the draft law would be adopted by the Cabinet and sent to the Parliament "as soon as possible."
Najjar said that abolishing the death penalty was in line with religious and humanitarian values, as well as Lebanon's own legal culture, and was supported by criminology studies, which, he said, revealed that "preventative measures were more effective than the death penalty in reducing crime."
Meanwhile, and on the occasion of the World and European Day against the Death Penalty, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner said: "I am proud of the EU's leading role in the international efforts to abolish the death penalty."
"Although over half the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, the global figures for its use remain much too high," Waldner said in statement distributed by the European Commission in Lebanon on Friday. "I fully recognize the plight of victims of violent crime, but the death penalty is not the solution," she said. "On the contrary, it only serves to aggravate a culture of violence and retribution."
According to Waldner, the European Commission is determined to work toward the universal abolition of the death penalty through all available diplomatic channels and as a leading donor in this field.
A total of 137 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice:
l Nintey-two countries and territories have abolished the death penalty for all crimes (10 since 2005).
l Ten countries have abolished the death penalty for all but exceptional crimes such as wartime crimes.
l Thirty-five countries can be considered abolitionist in practice. They retain the death penalty in law but have not carried out any executions for the past 10 years or more and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions.
Figures of death penalty application around the world remain high. During 2007, at least 1,252 people were executed in 24 countries, and at least 3,347 people were sentenced to death in 51 countries. A total of 88 percent of all known executions took place in five countries: China, the United States, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
According to the EU, more than $20 million have been allocated to support civil society projects since 1994, aimed at raising public awareness through public education, outreach to influence public opinion, studies on how states' death penalty systems comply with international minimum standards, supporting strategies for replacing the death penalty and efforts for securing the access of death row inmates to appropriate levels of legal support. - The Daily Star

Fadlallah urges Lebanese to support resistance
Daily Star staff/Saturday, October 11, 2008
BEIRUT: Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah called on the Lebanese to support the resistance and the Lebanese army, saying that both should be alerted to any possible Israeli attack. During his Friday sermon at the Imam Hassanayn Mosque in Haret Hreik, he said some parties sought "to exploit conflict between Arab countries and impede internal political agreements." The sayyed called on the Lebanese to achieve reconciliation so as to "torpedo attempts at creating divisions between them, protect their independence and support a powerful and just state." Fadlallah also called on the state's authorities and economic associations to face the repercussions of the world financial crisis. - The Daily Star

Cabinet seeks common front on Syrian troop move
By Hussein Abdallah /Daily Star staff/Saturday, October 11, 2008
BEIRUT: Cabinet labored into the night on Friday as ministers tried to cobble together a common position on the recent deployment of Syrian troops to Lebanon's northern border. Sources close to the meeting said the ministers were expected to issue an official position on the Syrian move, but the session, which was held at the Presidential Palace, was still in progress when The Daily Star went to press. Other items up for discussion included President Michel Sleiman's upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia and continuing Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace and sovereignty. The session also touched on the issue of the two Jordan-based American journalists who were reported missing in Lebanon before Syrian authorities informed the US Embassy in Damascus that they had been detained for entering Syria in an illegal manner. The journalists were handed over to the embassy before heading back to Jordan on Friday.
Syria beefed up its presence on the frontier following deadly bombings in both Tripoli and Damascus last month that Syrian officials have interpreted as a sign that instability in North Lebanon is a threat to their country's security. They say the deployment, however, was designed to prevent smuggling, especially of illicit diesel fuel. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora told reporters after Friday prayers at the Grand Serail that his visiting Damascus was not a prerequisite to establishing diplomatic ties between Lebanon and Syria. "I have nothing against paying a visit to Damascus, but this can only take place in response to an official invitation," he told reporters after Friday prayers at the Grand Serail. "Anyway, the issue of me visiting Damascus is not at all related to establishing diplomatic ties."
Asked to comment on the recent Syrian troop deployment, the prime minister said that the move was "positive" if it aimed at implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. The resolution requires both Beirut and Damascus to take strict measures to prevent the illegal flow of arms from Syria to Lebanon.
Siniora also said that Lebanon would not submit to Israeli threats, adding that the government was still working on a mechanism to achieve an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied southern border village of Ghajar. "Such a mechanism would be sponsored by the United Nations and its timing would be agreed upon by Lebanon and the UN," he said.
Siniora, who held talks with Saudi Ambassador Abdel Aziz al-Khoja on Friday, also said he hoped Sleiman's visit to Saudi Arabia would help enhance bilateral relations between the two countries. Sleiman will head to the kingdom, with which Siniora has strong ties, on Sunday to meet Saudi King Abdullah and other officials. Parallel to Sleiman's visit, news reports Friday indicated that MP Michel Aoun, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), would be heading to Tehran on Sunday to meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other officials.
An FPM delegation will accompany the retired general, local daily As-Safir said.
Also on Friday, the Presidential Palace announced after a meeting between Sleiman and Egyptian Ambassador Ahmad al-Bidyawi that the president would be visiting Egypt on November 8. Sleiman, who has made a number of foreign visits since his election in late May, is also expected to visit Tehran in the coming weeks.
Also on Friday, Siniora discussed the Syrian deployment with a delegation from the March 14 Forces which visited him at the Grand Serail.
Former MP Fares Soueid said after the meeting that the delegation had requested that the Lebanese Armed Forces take a similar measure to the one taken by Damascus. "If the Syrian troop build up is aimed at implementing UNSC Resolution 1701, the Lebanese Army should take similar measures in accordance with the same resolution," Soueid said.
Also on Friday, Lebanese Forces (LF) MP George Adwan told reporters after meeting Siniora that the reconciliation between his party and former Minister Suleiman Franjieh's Marada Movement "should take place as soon as possible."
"The LF is open to any suggestion which helps achieving such reconciliation, but at the same time we have a feeling that some parties are trying to obstruct the reconciliation by imposing preconditions," Adwan said.
Marada officials have said that any meeting between Franjieh and LF boss Samir Geagea should also include Aoun.
Another LF MP, Antoine Zahra, said late Thursday that putting conditions on reconciliation was a direct insult to the president and the Maronite patriarch, Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, both of whom have stated their support for a rapprochement.
The Maronite League's ongoing efforts to reconcile rival Christian leaders started in the aftermath of a shooting incident in the northern town of Bsarma which led to the death of Marada's Youssef Franjieh and the LF's Pierre Ishaq.
Military Investigating Magistrate Rashid Mezher issued arrest warrants on Friday for three suspects in the Bsarma shooting. The three were identified as Karam Jerjes, Michel Michael, and Youssef Tawk. - Additional reporting by Nafez Qawas

Jumblatt helps launch new group to venerate his father
By Ilona Viczian /Special to The Daily Star/Saturday, October 11, 2008
BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader Walid Jumblatt helped a launch a new non-governmental organization (NGO) this week that says it will invoke the legacy of his late father, Kamal Jumblatt, to foster awareness on issues ranging from drugs to intercommunal understanding.
Awareness for Tomorrow was officially launched Thursday at Le Bristol Hotel in Beirut. The brainchild of Lebanese University student Ridab Bou Nassereddine, 19, the NGO says its goals include getting people to look at the human, cultural side of politicians and separate these from their political identities. The group will try to accomplish its aims by holding workshops and other events at high schools, starting in the Chouf, Metn, and Aley areas. While the NGO is not yet fully operational, Nassereddine was very enthusiastic about upcoming activities. Recruitment will also be on the agenda when the group's representatives lecture at the high schools. Awareness Today will be targeting students from ages eighteen to twenty-two. "They [Awareness for Tomorrow] are willing to remind people and Lebanese society of the thoughts of Kamal Jumblatt, and it's necessary now because we are engulfed in the tensions of hatred ... So it's time to cross borders and why not?" said Walid Jumblatt, a donor to the organization who spoke briefly to Thursday's launch ceremony. Kamal Jumblatt was assassinated in 1977.Awareness for Tomorrow's says it first undertaking is educating young people on the philosophical and cultural side of Kamal Jumblatt. "Our first project is to focus on Kamal Jumblatt and his heritage and culture because he is a great man in Lebanon and we want to focus on all the great things he did," said Salman Andari, media coordinator for the organization. Awareness for Tomorrow says it also plans to focus on the lives and contributions of other important political figures and cultural leaders, and their legacies to society, such as Imam Musa Sadr and Gibran Khalil Gibran. The organization currently has seven board members and around 50 supporters.

Lebanese banks cash in on worldwide turmoil Deposits are rolling in from spooked investors
By Osama Habib /Daily Star staff/Saturday, October 11, 2008
BEIRUT: The credit squeeze in the United States, Europe and some of the oil-rich Gulf countries has convinced many Lebanese expatriates and Arab nationals to transfer parts of their massive assets to Lebanese banks, local bankers said Friday. "The deposit base in some Lebanese banks surged in the third quarter and this trend is continuing due to the global financial crisis," Saad Andary, the adviser to the chairman of Bank of Beirut and the Arab Countries (BBAC), told The Daily Star. He added that Beirut was now regarded as a safe haven by many depositors. At present, total bank deposits in Lebanese banks are close to $73 billion and bankers expect this figure to reach $80 billion by the end of 2008. The International Monetary Fund has credited the Banque du Liban for adopting stringent measures that shielded Lebanese banks from the direct fallout of the global financial crisis.Andary said that most of the deposits are coming from Lebanese expatriates who are based in Africa and Europe.
According to the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL), more than 45 percent of the assets in Lebanese banks are liquid and most of this liquidity is in foreign currency, which affords protection to these banks. In addition, the lending-to-deposits ratio is one of the lowest in the region.
The Central Bank prohibits commercial banks from making direct investment in properties in Lebanon or any other country. But banks are allowed to lend, to a certain degree, to investors seeking to develop real estate projects.
"They [Lebanese expatriates] are liquidating some of their portfolios in Europe and the United States and depositing this cash in Lebanese banks," Andary said.
Another banker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also applauded the ban on direct investment in real estate.
"This policy, which was enforced by [Central Bank Governor] Riad Salameh, has allowed local banks to avoid making any risky investment," the banker said. "At the end of the day banks should not venture with the deposits the clients."The banker said that investors had confidence in the soundness of Lebanese banking system and this trust was translated into more deposits. Lebanese bankers stressed that if the flow of deposits increased in the coming months many banks would start paying lower rates on deposits because of various costs and risks associated with digesting such large amounts of capital.
"We have to cut our rates down and we have started doing this few months ago," Andary said. The average current interest rate on dollar deposits is a little less than 4.5 percent, while the average interest on Lebanese-denominated deposits is between 8 and 9 percent. Echoing similar views, Joe Sarrouh, the adviser to the chairman of Fransabank, said that banks are getting lot of inquiries from abroad. But he stressed it is difficult to calculate the deposits that are coming to the country for the time being. The Central Bank issues reports on the growth of Lebanese banks every six months. "I expect the trend of inflow of deposits to accelerate in the coming few months," Sarrouh told The Daily Star. He also predicted that that if the current trend continued, many banks in the country would reduce their rates

Break Arab-Israeli deadlocks with water accords
By Karen Mneimne, El - Hassan Bin Talal and George Soros
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The global financial crisis may be grabbing all the headlines, but resolving it should not be allowed to crowd out other vital issues. In the Middle East, for example, Israelis and Palestinians - as well as many others around the world - are beginning to believe that the permanent-status negotiations to determine the future of Palestine are going nowhere. The situation may be more promising than it appears, but one cannot deny that hope for real changes on the ground has faded since talks were re-launched two years ago. This loss of faith is, sadly, establishing a dynamic that will itself inhibit the concessions that are needed if a permanent agreement is to be found. Because an impasse beckons, it is vitally important to work on those areas where intensive negotiations have the potential to produce quick results. Fresh water is one such area.Across the Middle East, water is a security issue. Indeed, people are now recognizing two important facts. First, nations faced with conflicting claims to water have historically found ways to collaborate rather than to fight. Even during the 60 years of conflict in the Jordan Valley, water has more often been a source of cooperation than of conflict.
Second, water scarcity is seldom absolute, and even less often an explanation of poverty. To quote the United Nations Human Development Report for 2006: "There is more than enough water in the world for domestic purposes, for agriculture and for industry ... Scarcity is manufactured through political processes and institutions that disadvantage the poor."But almost every nation in the Middle East is using more water than arrives on a renewable basis. There simply is not enough water for everything these nations want to use it for, and the situation will only worsen. Yet, even in Palestine, the key water issue is not thirst, but arrested economic development. In the short term, Palestine needs more water to provide employment and income from farming; in the longer term, educational, cultural, and political changes are needed in order to develop a capacity to adapt.
The region's climate and geography mean that water resources are unavoidably shared. But only if water is shared in a rational manner that respects the region's fragile ecology will human life be sustainable. Clearly, no final agreement on water will be possible until there are agreed-upon borders between the state of Israel and the state of Palestine, and some resolution of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. But interim resolution of water issues does not need to wait for final resolution of the major issues. Finding rational ways to share and co-manage water may be easier than solving the "big" issues. In fact, water could help to create a climate of success that aids progress in other areas.
The good news is that the quantity of water that is needed for drinking, cooking, other household chores and sanitation is small. Most water is used to grow food, so, if a nation's economy is healthy, there is scope for saving water by importing a greater share of food, although every nation will want to maintain some assured food supply for security reasons.
The bad news is that water, unlike land, cannot simply be divided. Water flows on the surface and underground. As it moves, it changes in quantity and quality, and it supports different ecosystems. Moreover, demand for water changes over time. Only a few percentage points of the Israeli GNP come from agriculture today; as a result, its economy requires less water than it once did. Exactly the same transition is likely to occur in Palestine, but it has not happened yet.
Few Israelis deny that Palestinians need more water. Similarly, there is wide agreement that some water currently used by Israelis will have to be allocated to Palestinian use. The current negotiations will inevitably deal with rights to water, which do not seem to be very contentious anymore, and the talks can suggest various mechanisms for transfer of management in some cases and for shared management in others.
These are eminently negotiable issues. A flexible and sustainable formula can certainly be found, almost surely including a transitional period that allows both sides to adjust to and account for their different water management systems, as well as for changing conditions and institutions in the future. The principle of a just division of water resources to meet the Palestinians' urgent needs for additional water should be taken as a starting point. Everything else can be worked out.
Shared water calls for flexible, continuous, cooperative water management, based on agreed-upon rights and responsibilities, as well as ongoing monitoring and dispute resolution mechanisms. One important point should be added: Extensive public participation and transparency, in terms of both process and outcomes, will be key to successful management.
We believe that progress in the peace process and in finding solutions for water issues between Israel and Palestine would also help to unblock progress in the broader region, between the parties on the Jordan, the Orontes, the Tigris, and the Euphrates rivers. Water can be a catalyst for regional cooperation, opening the way to a future comprehensive "Community of Water and Energy" to enhance the human environment. In such a forum, water and solar energy in tandem could help to move the Middle East from conflict to collaboration. The cost of inaction or merely pretending to act is likely to be high for everyone in the Middle East. Future water policy should no longer be seen as an extension of current policy, but rather as a new opportunity. Water is the essence of life. People in Palestine and in Israel need it; people in the region need it. Cooperating to secure it is the only way forward.
**Vaclav Havel is a former president of the Czech Republic, Andre Glucksmann is a French philosopher, Frederik Willem de Klerk is a former president of South Africa, Mike Moore is a former director general of the World Trade Organization, Yohei Sasakawa is a Japanese philanthropist, Karel Schwarzenberg is foreign minister of the Czech Republic, George Soros is a financier, El-Hassan bin Talal is a prince of Jordan, Desmond Tutu is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Richard von Weizsacker is a former president of Germany, and Grigori Yavlinsky is a Russian politician. THE DAILY STAR publishes this commentary in collaboration with Project Syndicate (c) (www.project-syndicate.org)

A smooth handoff in Washington will be vital
By David Ignatius /Daily Star staff/Saturday, October 11, 2008
The best thing about presidential elections is that they mark a break with the past. But that can also create a dangerous chasm - a period of uncertainty while the new administration hires its people and frames its policies. Meanwhile, the world's problems continue to fester.
It's like passing a baton, this process of transition, and it's easy for things to go wrong. Remember the ignominy of the United States men's and women's track teams in Beijing when they botched the handoffs in the 4 x 100-meter relays.
The Bush administration (remember them?) has an opportunity to build some bridges in foreign policy that could help the next administration, whoever is elected. Their goal shouldn't be to bind their successors but to preserve options - and to prevent deterioration of America's position during the interregnum.
One bridge-building opportunity right now involves Syria, a country that has often confounded US policy in the Middle East. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has asked America to join France and Turkey as a co-sponsor of its indirect peace talks with Israel. The Syrians want to lock in US support for an initiative that has Israeli, Syrian and European backing.
The administration has been cautious here, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met her Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Moallem, in New York last month to resume high-level dialogue; her top Middle East deputy, David Welch, held a follow-up meeting. They should take the next step and test Syria's promise to meet directly with Israel if the US backs the negotiations. Meanwhile, Washington and Damascus should reopen the channel they created after 9/11 to share intelligence about the common threat from radical jihadist groups.
Another opportunity to pass the baton is the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. A real peace accord is out of reach, alas. But if Tzipi Livni can form a new Israeli government over the next few weeks, Rice hopes the two sides will endorse a set of principles for a final-status agreement. Having such a document would make it easier to resume the peace process quickly after January 20, which is an urgent "must" for the US, Israel and the Palestinians.
The trickiest foreign-policy transition could be Iraq - where Barack Obama's call for a withdrawal timetable clashes with President George W. Bush's (and John McCain's) desire for a more open-ended, conditions-based approach. But even here, there are some promising efforts to smooth the handoff. The US-Iraqi negotiations over a security framework agreement are nearly complete - and far from ratifying an ongoing American military occupation, the Iraqis are demanding sensible guidelines for a phased withdrawal by the end of 2010.
On Afghanistan, there's agreement between Obama and McCain about the need for more troops, but little clarity about what they should do. The administration's review of Afghanistan policy options, leaked to the press last week, should help - especially if it clarifies a strategy for better governance, and not just more troops.
With Iran, probably the biggest foreign-policy challenge for the next president, the Bush administration plans to take a helpful step in mid-November by announcing the opening of a US interest section in Tehran. That will break the ice, and make it easier for the next president to begin the kind of dialogue with Iran that's necessary. The administration had planned to announce the interest section in August, but Russia's invasion of Georgia and worries about US election politics intervened. Administration officials assure me it's still coming.
North Korea is another hot spot where a sharp break in US policy would be dangerous. Bush is trying to build a pathway with a plan for verifying North Korea's movement toward de-nuclearization, which could be embraced by the next president.
Finally, there's a need to manage the US-Russia relationship after the shock of the Georgia crisis. I give Bush and Rice credit for keeping the door open for continued dialogue with Moscow, even as they try to prevent the Russians from consolidating their gains in Georgia and intimidating other neighbors. On this issue, the smartest thing Obama could do would be to endorse Bush's policy - and in the process, argue that it's McCain ("Today, we are all Georgians") who's the outlier.
To facilitate the transition, Bush issued an executive order last week to allow the next president's team to get intelligence clearances and briefings soon after the November 4 election. A president concerned with his legacy appears to understand the importance of a smooth handoff, so his successor can make a running start.
**Syndicated columnist David Ignatius is published regularly by THE DAILY STAR.

General Aoun to the Lebanese people:
Don’t let your consciousnesses crucify Lebanon because this time, there will be no resurrection.
On the 18th anniversary of October 13, 1990,
 MP Michel Aoun delivered the following address to a crowd of supporters at the Marina, Dbayeh.
As we meet today on the 18 anniversary of October 13, we are still living under the military and legal consequences of that dark day in our history. And it is a pity that we have not yet recovered from its psychological effects that have hit us deeply, in addition the economic repercussions that have crippled us both morally and financially. As a result we have gotten used to begging as if it were a tradition and we have also gotten used to repeating like parrots ideas that poison our minds, while failing to listen to the truth that consolidates our mutual trust and strengthens our immunity to face the practice of misinformation that has become a weapon and science jeopardizing the strongest of institutions.
Lebanon has been living for the last 18 years a downward trend in all aspects of life. And it has been difficult for us to retain one positive achievement of the consecutive governments. Measures that look like achievements are in fact nothing but expensive projects that have been a source of illegal enrichment for their owners. Meanwhile, we still live deprived of water, electricity and health care, deprived of the clean air that was polluted by waste dumpsters, and deprived of security on various parts of Lebanon’s territories. In this context, our national debt has soared and so have our needs. Moreover, our security has evaporated with the flux of incoming visitors from all parts of the world as if we were witnessing a new era of conquests.
Towards the end of April 2005, the Lebanese people thought that their country’s sovereignty has been restored in the framework of the popular uprising following the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. They also thought that the era of tutelage has also ended with the withdrawal of the Syrian troops from Lebanon. But reality has proven otherwise. The Taef Accord had put Lebanon under a joint Saudi-Syrian tutelage under the patronage of the USA. And what happened in 2005 was nothing but a withdrawal of the occupying military forces but political submissiveness to Saudi Arabia and the US Administration remained. That was the main cause for the instability that has shaken the country once again.
Then in early 2006, the quadripartite agreement imploded because the promise made to Hizbullah prior to the legislative elections vowing to protect their weapons and not to implement US resolution 1559 was not met.
Despite the fact that the government, in its ministerial declaration, stressed “the right of the Lebanese people to liberate their land and defend their dignity facing the Israeli violations and threats and the right to pursue the endeavor to free the land”, March 14 forces have tried to appeal to us in a bid to form a front against Hizbullah to isolate it and confront it at a later stage. But, out of concern for the seriousness of the situation and its possible confrontational repercussions similar to those that happened with the Kataeb in 1975, we refused to join this front and suggested a plan for a solution that safeguards the rights of Lebanon and the resistance and offers an honorable exit to all the parties. And depending on Hizbullah’s reaction, measures would be adopted.
Then we knew that the plan drawn by the majority and offered to us was in total contradiction with the plan we suggested, so we separated.
Since all local and international concerned parties lacked a framework for the implementation of the 1559, which was due to put Lebanon in confrontation with the international community and out of concern for the seriousness of the situation and despite various alerts that have been issued against us by major international players that warned us against reaching out to Hizbullah, we decided to move on with our MOU, the understanding that we declared on February 6, 2006 and that was rejected by the Bristol party and the foreign powers that endorsed later on the July war.
Despite hostile reactions from the inside and some foreign stances, the MOU has restored trust among various factions of the Lebanese people, increased their sense of security, and removed the psychological barriers that were inherited and accumulated for bloody decades. Thus we consolidated tolerance among the various components of our social fabric.
The MOU has also restored political and popular balance, which played the major role in containing explosive situations and preventing them from causing a civil war, and its 10 clauses have constituted the basis for the national dialogue that led to the achievement of a new electoral law, the realization of a clear vision on ways to deal with the Palestinian weapons, and on the relations with Syria, in addition to solving the issue of the missing and disappeared, and finally the adoption of a national defense strategy for Lebanon.
As to July war, the MOU played the most important role in preparing the Lebanese public opinion in general and Lebanon’s Christians in particular for supporting national stances, thus overcoming the traditionally practiced policies based on contradictions inherited for decades. It has also prepared the public opinion to move the conflict in the country from a sectarian conflict to a political one and to found the principles of the State based on national choices and policies, not on confessional belonging. As such we have moved one step forward in the project of the secular state based on the principle of citizenry.
In the past, we were harshly criticized for fighting the Syrian occupation of Lebanon and we have been accused of hatred against Syria despite our incessant reiteration that we want to build the best relations with Syria, only after the Syrian troops leave Lebanon. Today, we are being criticized for having the dignity to respect our word and respecting truthfulness in dealing with crucial issues that impose on us good relations with our neighboring countries. We are even accused of being subordinates to Syria, as if the respect for good relations with neighboring countries has become a humiliation for Lebanon and the code of conduct with the others forces us to shift away from moral and legal criteria instead of abiding by these principles.
Events evolved from a controversy on the relations with Syria to a monstrous war that Israel waged on Lebanon known in July 2006. This war left behind huge moral and material consequences, in addition to political divisions within the government. We also suffered catastrophic material and human losses incurred due to the Israeli aggressions against Lebanon’s infrastructure and industries and homes. Out of the need we felt to restrain political rhetoric at the level of the leaderships and to give priority for compensation, we called for the formation of a national unity government formed of the various groups and that would deal with the various issues at hand. But unfortunately, we were faced with a categorical refusal and with a speech deprived from any sense of responsibility in the midst of total ignorance of the crisis that has formed during the war. And the irresponsible political rhetoric adopted by the MPs of the ruling majority has proven the extent of ignorance in realizing that the situation was dramatically deteriorating. As a result of this lack of foresight, the situation deteriorated and the Shiite ministers resigned from the government – in addition to the minister of the environment- and thus the government lost its legitimacy and has become opposed to the Constitution. As a consequence, Lebanon knew the biggest demonstrations in its history.
We all remember how the prime minister refused to resign, preferring to protect the barbed wire and to stay in the Serail than to change his cabinet or dissolve it. The crisis lingered on and lasted for more than a year and a half and crippled the presidential elections. All of this was perpetrated for the sake of monopolizing the power and refusing power sharing. As such, the ruling majority undermined all constitutional principles and political traditions of the practice of consensual democracy in Lebanon.
The ruling party continued to provoke the opposition in various areas in an attempt to drag the opposition into an armed conflict. But the opposition has proven to be patient and wise, preferring to contain events and losses and safeguard democracy rather than entering a military equation that would solve the issue to its advantage.
Throughout this period of time, the ruling party consolidated its political power with armed militias thinking that it would be able to create a balance of power to its advantage and spreading the belief among its supporters that support would come from foreign powers and its own militias would only have to last a few hours in case any armed conflict breaks out. And when it thought that it was strong enough, the ruling majority took provoking measures against the resistance and that’s how the events of May 7th happened.
Then came the Doha Accord in which we went back to our initial demand following the July war, which stresses the necessity to form a national unity government, enact the new electoral law, and carry out the presidential elections. Had the ruling majority been convinced of the components of the solution, we would have avoided two years of trouble and, moral and material, as well as human losses. Most importantly, we would have avoided imposing on our society this unprecedented sectarian division. All this happened because of a few newcomers to national politics who are totally ignorant of history and who made all efforts to turn the country into a company and the citizens into customers.
After the Doha Accord, Lebanon entered a new phase a new coalition government was formed and the Free Patriotic Movement and the Change and Reform Bloc participated in it. Even if the representation of the opposition in the government is not enough to allow it to reform what needs to be reformed, it nevertheless allows it to prevent any skid in the major issues that require the approval of two thirds of the government as stipulated by the Constitution.
And today, the FPM brings to the government an efficient and transparent conduct that takes upon its responsibility issues of public concern and finds the necessary solutions in accordance with moral and legal principles. At the present stage, the work of FPM is restricted to the ministerial portfolios that we hold and its representatives in the government are making strenuous efforts that differentiate their work from the others.
Our limited experience within the government has given us a clear idea of the swamp this crippled public administration is locked in. This administration has neither will nor initiative and lives in a state of chronic paralysis because the executive power in charge of boosting and enhancing it is in fact leading it towards personal interests not public ones.
Our experience with the parliament has strengthened our belief that no reform is possible without a majority that is aware of its responsibilities and that respects the Constitution and clears the laws from flaws that allow corruption to grow, and that holds the government accountable for its violations of laws. What we are witnessing today is a conspiracy between the government and the parliament that covers it.
In this context, we have to distinguish between what falls under our power and what doesn’t. What we seek from our participation in the government is to reach a rightful model of conduct more than to reform the foundations of the State plagued by corruption that has reached the head of the government. The latter evades answering questions using poetry and is covered by the majority of the parliament. Thus, we have the belief that the only way to achieve reform is through a parliament capable of forming a power that respects the Constitution and abides by the laws and of holding the government accountable for its mistakes and abuses.
In democratic parliamentary systems, the executive power is supposed to emanate from an elected parliament according to a law that ensures the correct representation of the Lebanese people. But in Lebanon and for 2 decades, the parliament has been emanating from the executive through an electoral law that forged the will of the Lebanese people through administrative divisions that gerrymandered the vote through sectarian preferences.
That is why we struggled with the ruling power to issue a new electoral law that allows, even partially, to improve the representativity of the Lebanese people and to give them some hope for change. And this will give us the chance to elect a majority that favors reform. Otherwise, it would be useless to try and fight a corruption deeply rooted in the foundations of the State and that a major part of the Lebanese people accepts and enjoys practicing. Those people have started to corrupt the electoral process through a fake “generosity” to help the ones in need.
They have stolen our right and made us poor. They gave us charity from our own money and made us beggars after we were right-owners. As such, the thief turned into a good doer and the holder of a right into a beggar.
Who failed in preserving security and led to the increase in crime?
Who interfered in the independence of the judiciary and tarnished its image?
Who destroyed the agriculture and displaced farmers?
Who neglected the national industry and made it follow the lead of agriculture?
The list is long and encompasses all production sectors and there is no one to ask, to answer, or to hold accountable.
The principle of the State has collapsed along with its moral, legal and humane boundaries and no partial reform could happen in a rotten foundation and that’s why our vision for reform should be global and should cover all sectors. As to how and when the reform will happen, I will get back to this issue later in details but it will start with the upcoming legislative elections.
Finally, it is our duty to remind the Lebanese people in general and Lebanon’s Christians in particular that they will be tempted by the biggest temptation in history as the “petro-dollars” are available in huge quantities and the need for them is even greater. So the challenge is enormous and the responsibility overwhelming.
One of the most important Bible requests is not to adore both God and Money. The buying of consciousness delivered the Christ to the cross, but he defeated death and resurrected. So don’t let your consciousnesses crucify Lebanon because this time, there will be no resurrection.

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Exclusive interview with the Syrian head of state Bashar Assad
Monday Morning
JUne10/08
Fifty-three replies to 53 questions posed over two full hours spent in his office in the Raouda Palace in Damascus, which the Syrian president, Dr. Bashar Assad, answered fully and with a serenity of spirit. My son Saër was present at the encounter and took part in the interview. The road to Damascus having remained open even during the time when relations between the two countries were not what they might have been. No one could imagine that everything would change between Beirut and Damascus, as happened on April 25, 2005. With much bitterness, we recalled the errors, without exculpating anyone. Everyone committed faults, Lebanese and Syrians. As well as those who approved the Syrian intervention in 1976 and rejected, because of the fact of interests, all that came out of the Riviera Hotel, Anjar and Damascus. On the road from Damascus to Jdaidet Yabous stands a statue of Youssef al-Azmé and a recollection of the martyrdom of Maissaloun, which recalled to our minds memories of the French mandate and words of opposition to that mandate from the mouth of the Maronite patriarch, His Beatitude Antoine Boutros Arida: “I have shown interest in the Syrian question”, he said on September 10, 1935, “because Lebanon and Syria are joined in a unity of language, morality, traditions and economic interests”. And political ones, we might add. Understanding and encounter are the destiny of the two independent and sovereign countries. Lebanon and Syria: privileged relations and understanding despite all that has happened. The enemy is the same, and resistance to the enemy is a national and patriotic duty. Peace in the Middle East can only be a just and comprehensive peace, drawing inspiration from international relations. With it, Lebanon will recover portions of its national territory still occupied, in addition to those liberated by the Resistance. With it Syria will recover the Golan down to the last handspan of its land and the last drop of its water, as President Hafez Assad demanded. President Bashar is walking in his “father’s footsteps”. The man is unshakeable and has in no way been affected by the isolation and the boycott great powers have tried in vain to impose on his country. They have had to annul this option. Either Moammar Kadhafi or Saddam Hussein, the West told him, covertly targeting the regime while publicly denying that it was trying to do so. Syria succeeded in surmounting dark days and in resuming its presence in Arab, international and international forums while remaining faithful to its commitments and its friends. The young president received the family of “Dar Alf Leila wa Leila”: Al-Bayrak, Al-Hawadeth, Monday Morning and La Revue du Liban, for the interview, the text of which follows:

Fraternal relations with Lebanon
Melhem Karam: Mr. President, let me first of all present my condolences for the victims of the cowardly attack perpetrated on the road in Damascus. I implore Almighty God to grant the martyrs his great mercy, and to bring vitality to the wounded.
President Bashar Assad: Thank you. I have always warned against terrorism and affirmed over the past few years that mistaken policies towards our region ensured fertile soil for terrorism.
But that doesn’t discourage us. We shall continue to pursue our internal and external policies opposed to occupation, violence and terrorism. This attack impels us, once again, to join our efforts to combat the scourge of terrorism and ensure the conditions of a peaceful life for all citizens.

Monday Morning: Mr. President, Syria, under your leadership, is at the intersection of the problems of the Middle East: of indirect negotiations with Israel; the Iraqi dossier and that of the Iranian nuclear program; and the position of Lebanon, uneasy despite all attempts and initiatives to reconcile disparate viewpoints. Without omitting the developed relations between Damascus and Turkey; and the relations with Paris, now renewed, and those with Washington, still mistrustful. Let’s begin with the dossier closest to your heart, that imposed by destiny and history. Let us speak of Lebanon.
President Assad: Our relations with Lebanon will remain fraternal, whatever happens and despite the circumstances of any kind or degree, naturally above all after the Doha Agreement, through which Lebanon moved away from civil war.
The most important thing I want to say is that Lebanon and Syria will remain brothers, and it cannot be otherwise. Brothers may pass through periods of misunderstanding and dissensions, but they do not cease to be brothers living in the same house. Our relations will therefore remain in this orientation and Syria will continue to support it in the way desired by the Lebanese.

Military deployment near North Lebanon
Monday Morning: The Lebanese are disquieted at the deployment of soldiers near their northern frontier, despite the assurances of Army commander-in-chief General Jean Kahwaji following his contact with his Syrian counterpart, General Habib. Why this timing, and is the deployment linked to smuggling or to the passage of salafists to and from Tripoli, which you have previously warned of?
President Assad: What happened was different from that. It was the Syrian chief of staff who contacted General Kahwaji before the deployment, or during the operation. The matter was dealt with in direct coordination with the Lebanese Army. It is illogical that there should be bad intentions, since coordination is established between the leaderships of the two armies. The purpose of the deployment was explained, being directly linked to smuggling operations, or if one prefers, to operations of infiltration and movement of terrorists between Syria and Lebanon. It is clear, from the intelligence obtained through our security surveillance recently, that North Lebanon has been transformed into a veritable base for extremism, which formerly came to us from Iraq, and which constitutes a danger for Syria. It is natural that we should take steps to protect our frontiers.
Add to that the smuggling of prohibited products, especially diesel fuel (mazout), which constitutes a hemorrhage for the Syrian economy, as well the crossing of the frontier in an illegal manner.
It is in this context that the Syrian units have been deployed on the Syrian frontiers.


Monday Morning: Following the visit of French President Sarkozy to Damascus, coming after your own visit to Paris last July 14, there was a question of a new manner for Syria of dealing with Lebanon. However, you have begun again to receive, as in the past, Lebanese political personalities of the opposition: former Prime Minister Omar Karami, Talal Arslan, MPs of the National Syrian Social Party, the Amal Movement and Hezballah. Why this return to a practice which has been the subject of controversy?
President Assad: First of all, there is no link between our relations with France and our relations with Lebanon, the latter being relations between two independent states based on bilateral interests. There is no relationship between Syrian cooperation with Lebanon and with any other country on the globe.
As for our reception of certain Lebanese personalities, we believe that after Doha and the new stage into which Lebanon has entered, especially with the formation of a government of national unity, the most important thing has been the visit of General Michel Sleiman, president of the Lebanese Republic, to Syria, which opened a new page in relations between the two countries. It is natural that, when speaking of a new page, relations with Lebanon should include the whole country, the institutions, the parties and political forces. Relations with these forces does not signify interference in domestic Lebanese affairs and, therefore, cannot be the subject of controversy.
Naturally, whoever does not want good relations with Syria does not look favorably on these visits. Nevertheless, I want to stress the fact that these visits have not been interrupted. The difference now is that they have been given a media cachet. They will continue for those who wish to come to Syria.

Diplomatic relations?
Monday Morning: Will the exchange of diplomatic relations really open a new page in relation to the old vision of Lebanon as an independent and sovereign state, or will it rather be a tactical game aimed at keeping doors open to Paris?
President Assad: Syria posed the subject of an embassy in 2005, three and a half years before the reestablishment of relations with Paris. We cannot expect to improve our relations with Lebanon if these must pass through a third state. There will not be a true improvement, but only a temporary improvement, one of pure form.
We must therefore deal directly, and it is in this framework that the subject of diplomatic relations between Beirut and Damascus comes. An embassy does not signify for us the recognition of Lebanon’s independence since we have always recognized it. We don’t believe that there is a relationship between the opening of an embassy and the recognition of Lebanon’s independence. The establishment of diplomatic relations aims to open a new page between the peoples and not between governments.
Such is our vision of independence, and diplomatic relations are a new page between the peoples, not between the governments. Between us and Lebanon there is a contact of peoples. There was not in the past a black page that now needs to be made white. I don’t consider problems to be a black page, but a summer cloud which has been dispelled.

Syrian help for Lebanon
Monday Morning: How far, Mr. President, are you ready to help President Michel Sleiman rebuild institutions and achieve reconciliations?
When President Sleiman visited us in Syria and when we met together in Paris, I expressed Syria’s total support for him as president, and for the Presidency of the Republic. That is a traditional support in regard to Syria. We told him that relations with all institutions must be carried on through the Presidency of the Republic and the head of the state. This requires that these institutions should be effective if we are to cooperate. Such is the rule.
When a clear Lebanese vision to resolve any problem is determined, Syria will be able to help Lebanon, so that Syria will not be transformed into a part of the problem, but rather be a part of the solution. We are keen to receive any proposal that enjoys the unanimous support of the Lebanese. At that moment, and only then, will Syria be able to act in Lebanon’s favor.

Melhem Karam: A stable and reinvigorated Lebanon can be an economic lung for Syria. Why have privileged relations been limited since 1975 to the political and security sphere at the expense of the economy and development, to the extent that there is not a single mixed enterprise or project? The only indication of joint economic activity are the Syrian workers in Lebanon. This is far from the complementarity envisaged in Europe through coal and agriculture.
President Assad: What you say is exact, and it expresses a negligence on the part of institutions in Syria and Lebanon, especially since the end of the civil war in 1990. Economic relations are very important in linking peoples together. The fraternal relationship exists, as does the relationship of blood and of families… All this is established between Syria and Lebanon, and a kind of complementarity began to appear between the Syrian and Lebanese markets. The Lebanese market lived in large part from Syrians who spent their money in Lebanon, and vice-versa. Recent circumstances have weakened that relationship, which has not taken a clear institutional form. It is a relationship of peoples, and if it were otherwise, it would have been institutionalized in the 1990s, and this would have favored the emergence of mixed markets.
At one point there was a question of a joint private airline, but the idea never came to anything because of the events. This economic aspect was a subject of my discussions with President Sleiman. I repeat that this depends on the Lebanese government, which is urged to show its desire to develop prosperous relations between Lebanon and Syria. I can tell you, in the name of the Syrian state, that we are ready for this kind of relationship, which would reach the level of the mixed projects that exist between Syria and other states.
How can we establish privileged relations with Lebanon when such projects do not exist? We are waiting for the Lebanese state, through its various institutions, to show the desire, the will and the administrative mechanisms to bring about such mixed projects.

Aid to Hezballah, but not at the expense of the Lebanese state
Saër Karam: How do you reply, Mr. President, to accusations in regard to your support for Hezballah at the expense of the Lebanese state, as also for the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements at the expense of the internationally-recognized Palestinian Authority? Might this stance be a card in your hand, although it may have cancelled other political cards?
President Assad: In regard to the Palestinian side, our relations are excellent with Hamas and with President Mahmoud Abbas, who has visited us twice and will visit us again soon. If we were supporting Hamas at the expense of the Palestinian Authority, our relationship with President Abbas would not be good.
That applies as well to our relations with the Resistance in Lebanon, more precisely with Hezballah, over the last three or four years. There was then a state in Lebanon headed by President Emile Lahoud as well as, at various times, prime ministers Rafik Hariri and Salim Hoss. We supported the Resistance and, at the same time, the Lebanese government, but not at the expense of the power of the state. We have never thought of backing the Resistance in order to weaken the Lebanese government, which would have served neither Lebanon nor Syria. We support Lebanon as a whole and the Lebanese state, which represents the whole Lebanese people, as well as the government of national unity.

The Iranian nuclear issue
Monday Morning: What are the results of the mediation you have undertaken at the request of President Nicolas Sarkozy with your Iranian ally in regard to the military side of its nuclear program? Do you believe that the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency accusing Iran may serve as a pretext for the West and Israel to unleash a war against Iran?
President Assad: The United States is now, with or without a pretext, waging wars, its option being military, not political. I don’t see any permanent link between pretexts and acts, and I don’t expect peace with the American Administration during the last months of the presidential term. The possibility that this Administration may undertake some kind of sabotage in the region is there, and we are taking this possibility into consideration. Iran is doing the same.
On the question about mediation, we are concerned about weapons of mass destruction and their proliferation in the Middle East, in addition to application of the convention on the non-proliferation of these weapons in this region. We have signed this convention, as Iran has. This convention gives every state the right to have a nuclear reactor for peaceful uses. The problem does not lie in possession of a reactor or enrichment, but in a lack of supervision. The West has gone beyond the question of supervision and is demanding a halt to the whole operation. It’s a question of agreeing on a mechanism that will reassure the West, which has no confidence in Iran as to its desire to possess peaceful nuclear energy. We discussed this matter with our Iranian brothers as well as with President Sarkozy during his visit to Damascus.
During the month of Ramadan the Arab and Islamic world witnessed a peaceful phase in political activity. After the Fitr feast, the results of the talks will appear, and we will be informed of the response of the West and of Iran.

No Syrian nuclear reactor
Monday Morning: Mr. President, reports and rumors have been spread about the Israeli piracy against the Kobar position in the Syrian Desert. What exactly were the airplanes targeting, and were the installations targeted intended for the manufacture of nuclear products despite the IAEA chief Baradei’s recent announcement?
President Assad: Mohammad El-Baradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA], has denied the existence of nuclear installations or of a nuclear reactor, as the IAEA has also. This naturally corresponds to what Syria announced earlier several times following the Israeli raid. It’s a question of a military position, and we didn’t say it was a civilian position, but it has never been a nuclear site. The statements of Baradei have settled the matter. Before the visit of the IAEA’s inspectors we were giving continuous explanations and after the inspectors took samples from the river and the building itself and performed analysis and tests, none of the Israeli and US pretexts and lies turned out to be true.

Monday Morning: How can Damascus deal with many complex dossiers at the same time: negotiations with Israel through Turkish mediators; an allied relationship with Iran and Hezballah; entente with France; solidarity with Lebanon, its causes and crises such as the “international tribunal”? How do you manage the multi-faceted diplomacy without altering the constant principles of your governance and regime? What are your aspirations?
President Assad: You have spoken of constants and it is very important to hold fast to them. One of our most important political constants here is independence based on principles. Syria’s constants are based upon our firm knowledge of our country’s position and its importance as well as the geographical, demographic and geo-political relationship with its environment. We know that any side or country in the world wishing to have a role in the region should deal with Syria either partially or completely, one way or another. From this standpoint, the countries dealing with the various issues that you have just mentioned have understood this reality and they understand that we know this reality, which is of utmost importance. Other have understood this, but they are turning a blind eye to this fact. The most important is that this becomes clear to everybody. We understand this reality and accordingly we have been able to play a role that appears to be contradictory to some, but in fact its aspects are interlinked since all the issues are linked with one another. We can see that issues appear to be contradictory but in fact there is an innerlogic that binds them together. Some countries have understood the relationship between the different issues: the relationship between peace and terrorism; the relationship between Iraq, peace and terrorism; the prevailing situation in Lebanon, peace and terrorism; the relationship between all these things and development as well as the repercussions of poverty on the European countries. All these issues are interlinked. What we aim to achieve is stability, peace, prosperity, development and further improvement in living conditions and reduction in poverty. These are our general aims.

Monday Morning: What would you tell the Lebanese especially those who are boycotting you because of the tribunal of international character, which is supposed to begin sitting in 2009? Have you any fears about it, as well as about the politicization of its verdicts? Will it be a new Nuremberg, or is time working against the tribunal, with the risk that it may be torpedoed?
President Assad: It is a Lebanese and international tribunal. But if this tribunal wants to cooperate with Syria in its investigations, it is important to establish a convention with the Syrian judicial authorities. We are an independent and sovereign state, and any Syrian citizen is subject to justice in his own country. This is the only way Syria can have a relationship with the tribunal.
In any case, we have no fear of the international tribunal, since we are protected by our sovereignty. If this tribunal is professional and is aimed at identifying the authors of the assassination of [former] Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, that will serve Syria in a direct manner, since it is the state that has been the most affected in its image and reputation because of the Hariri affair.
In any case, I say to the Lebanese: Bet on your own country, not on the exterior.

Syria, Israel
Monday Morning: How far have the negotiations with Israel reached? Have priorities been defined, or is it a question of preliminary contacts? Some observers say that Tzipi Livni, who has succeeded Olmert, like Ehud Barak, is inclined to negotiate with you while at the same time hardening her position with the Palestinians. What is your analysis?
President Assad: The indirect talks with Israel have not yet reached any result. We are at the beginning of the road, and the halt in the negotiations was caused by the ministerial crisis. We need to wait for a stabilization of the domestic situation in Israel. As for the intentions ascribed to the Israeli officials, we can’t take them into consideration since they say one thing and do something other than what they promise. Our experience tells us that we have to wait and see what they’re going to do. Will the new prime minister be in favor of negotiations on the basis that we have previously agreed on and which stipulate the full return of the Golan Heights, or will there be new conditions for these negotiations? When a new premier is elected we will see.

Melhem Karam: Sources close to intelligence services (Aman) claim that Syria is making trials of “Skod C” missiles and has reached agreement with China and North Korea in order to improve their effectiveness. Is there any relationship between these claims and American and Israeli pressures exerted on you?
President Assad: American and Israeli pressures on Syria have never ceased. We for our part are continuing to develop our armed forces. This is a natural right as long as we are in a state of war and as long as the Jewish state has not evacuated the occupied portions of our territory, and it attacks whether it is Syria, Lebanon or Palestine. That is why we cannot say that we are in a stage of peace.
On the matter of raising this question at the present time, we don’t know if Israel believes that the indirect talks signify for Tel Aviv that peace has been restored and that the Golan has been returned to Syria.

Saër Karam: How far would you be perturbed by the return of Netanyahu to power, as to the possibility of a war against Syria and Hezballah? If a confrontation was imposed on you, would the Bekaa Valley be one of its theaters, or would it be limited to rockets? What scenarios have your strategists devised in this respect?
President Assad: We’re not betting on names of people who might accede to leadership posts in Israel, Netanyahu or any other. As far as we are concerned, there’s no great difference between one candidate and another. They may be in disagreement on questions of internal policy, and we haven’t heard anything from Netanyahu about the Golan so as to evaluate his position. We won’t go into the game of names of people in Israel; we’re looking at what they intend to do. That’s the criterion of the talks now going on in Turkey.
As for the military aspect, and not to go into details, the scenarios are many and have no end, since the region is vast and all possibilities are envisaged. Syria is ready to confront them without going into military details.

Monday Morning: How do you judge the process of rearming the Israeli army, which has linked its command structure on the ground with American satellites, and the launch of the Arrow anti-ballistic missile? Is this a form of blackmail against Syria?
President Assad: If we wanted to surrender, we would have done so a long time ago. We will not do so now. This indicates that Israel is thinking in one way or another of perpetrating a new attack when the circumstances permit. As for blackmail, it doesn’t affect anyone in the region.

Development of Syro-Turkish relations
Monday Morning: How do you explain the qualitative development in Syrian-Turkish relations, which have moved from mistrust to bilateral coordination, in addition to the increasing exchanges of visits? How far does Ankara aspire to be another hub in the region to defend the interests of the Sunnites in the face of Iran and its Shiite role?
President Assad: First of all, relations between Turkey and Iran are developing in a permanent and positive way. The role of the two states is not based on a confessional or religious position, but on the political and geographical position of the state.
As for asking why relations between Syria and Turkey have developed, the reply is clear. The two states became aware that their situation had deteriorated when they served as fuel for international conflicts in the Middle East. When we decided to be masters of our own decisions in order to better serve and defend our common interests, everything changed.
From another standpoint, I should point out the credibility of the Turkish state and government. All its institutions generally have acted in a friendly manner and at no time promised one thing and done the opposite. Syria for its part takes the same course of action towards them. The credibility of the Turkish president and prime minister has led to this neighborly and friendly relationship.

Syria, Saudi Arabia
Monday Morning What interest has Syria in prolonging the rupture with Saudi Arabia, especially since the kingdom has its weight in the region and the world? Is it not necessary that we establish a bridge between Damascus and Riyadh, since what brings the two together is more important than what separates them?
President Assad: These are clear words and I approve of them. I can affirm to you that Syria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have no interest in remaining at odds since that has negative repercussions on the Arab situation in general.
Efforts are being made in the right direction, and we hope they will be successful. In regard to us, there is no point of disagreement with any other Arab state. I hope you will address this question to our Saudi brothers.

Monday Morning: Why has Paris failed in its honest mediation between Damascus and Riyadh? Is your alliance with Iran the reason? Did the events of May 7 in Lebanon have a negative consequence? Can we say the same thing in regard to the rupture with Egypt?
President Assad: The situation with Egypt is different. We have posed the same questions without receiving a reply.
Regarding our relations with Iran, it is an important country, but our relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in no way signify that we conduct our relations with it at the expense of Arab states. We have not exchanged Arab states for Iran, and we don’t consider it in this light.
Our relations with Turkey are very strong, and this helps stability in the region, not the reverse. What is the benefit for Arab states of a negative relationship with Turkey over eight decades? We have all lost out. When relations are better there is gain for everybody. The same applies to Iran. We should establish excellent relations with all neighboring countries. We Arabs do not dialogue much. Relations can be good at the level of the summit, but not on other levels. We in Syria have no barriers in our relations with Arab states. We are open to all initiatives. I was in touch with President Hosni Mubarak some weeks ago to present my condolences following the landslide accident in which there were victims. Let’s be frank: relations, which are supposed to be good, do not now exist with Egypt as they should. We have no problems with them.

Monday Morning: You are waiting for the exit of President Bush from the White House in order to take initiatives. But if his successor is John McCain, the Republican candidate, he may pursue the same political and military approach to the region?
President Assad: It is difficult to imagine that a new president, no matter to which party he belongs, would decide at the outset of his Administration that he is going to fail. For in fact, the present Administration has failed in every one of the matters it has approached, from Korea to Iran, Syria, the war against terrorism, Iraq and Georgia, as well as in terms of America’s internal and economic situation. Is it possible for a person, even if he follows the same political line, to pursue the same policies, which would doom him to failure from the start. I believe that it is logical to say that whoever comes to power cannot follow the same path. The question here is to what extent they can distance themselves from this path. The difference between the Democratic and the Republican candidate is another issue. The principal issue is the military aspect of this Administration. Whoever comes to power and adopts the same stances will definitely fail. The USA is a powerful nation and it can cause destruction, but will it succeed in the end?

Diplomatic relations between Beirut and Damascus
Monday Morning: Will the establishment of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria and the inauguration of the two embassies take place by the end of the year?
President Assad: We’re moving in this direction. The preparations may require several months, and we are supposed complete them by the end of the year.

Monday Morning: Will your expected visit to Lebanon take place before or after the exchange of diplomatic relations?
President Assad: My second visit to Lebanon, where I went in 2002, is not linked to the opening of the embassy, but to the improvement of relations between Lebanon and Syria.


Monday Morning: What about the demarcation of the frontier and Syria’s role in recovering the Shebaa Farms?
President Assad: There have been positive exchanges of correspondence between us, and the Lebanese government has proposed a demarcation of the frontier that would not take in the Shebaa Farms, since they are occupied by Israel. We cannot carry out a demarcation of the frontier in an area which is occupied. The problem is not between Lebanon and Syria; the problem is posed by Israel. The Israelis have suggested it and some in Lebanon have adopted it. When the occupier leaves, we will be able to discuss the question with Lebanon.
The demarcation of the frontier between our two countries commences from the Akkar plain and finishes at the Shebaa Farms. Limiting this operation to Shebaa would be doing a service to Israel. Since the occupation exists we have no problem in demarcating the borders in other regions because this is in Syrian and Lebanese interests. This depends on the cooperation of institutions in both countries.

Arab solidarity
Monday Morning: As current president of the Arab summit, are you planning to revive inter-Arab solidarity, and how can this be achieved?
President Assad: The Doha Agreement expressed an aspect of this solidarity as it is one of the most important agreements and solutions to a big and dangerous problem on the Arab scene. But a solution has been reached without international interference. We can call this Arab solidarity.
Palestinian reconciliation, for which we made great efforts, and the visit of President Mahmoud Abbas fall in this context. Why? Because dissensions, be they in Lebanon, Palestine or elsewhere, lead to differences among the Arabs. We must therefore settle dissensions in order to defuse the crises that compromise inter-Arab relations. I am making visits, but they do not ensure Arab solidarity, which remains partial and temporary. The problems need to be resolved in a definitive manner.

Monday Morning: Might Syria’s relations with Iran be affected by a possible peace treaty with Israel?
President Assad: Not at all. First of all, Iran has said twice, after the beginning of the indirect talks with Israel, that it supported any effort by Syria to recover the occupied portions of its territory. And Syria and Iran feel great respect for each other. Iran does not interfere in our affairs and vice-versa. We support it and it supports us. I should note that our relations with Teheran have not regressed since the beginning of our indirect talks with Tel Aviv.

Monday Morning: How do you evaluate the results of the four-party summit you hosted in Damascus with President Sarkozy, Emir Hamad of Qatar and Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan?
President Assad: It was an important summit because it brought together the presidency of the Arab League summit, the presidency of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the presidency of the European Union and the state that plays the role of mediator in favor of peace. These countries will have an important role which is much wider than their regional frontiers, at least in the next few months. These states are working in favor of peace and stability. Peace signifies the peace process in the Middle East, basically the Syrian path, which doesn’t neglect the Lebanese or the Palestinian tracks. Need I recall that stability is linked to peace? Here we look to the problem of Darfur, a grave problem. We reached points of view on these subjects which were very close, and that’s why I can say that the summit was a complete success.

Russo-Syrian relations
Monday Morning: When most of the countries of the globe stood beside Georgia or adopted a wait and see attitude during the events in the Caucasus, Syria declared its stand at the side of Russia in this conflict, which some justified by the fact that the United States and Israel, Syria’s principal adversaries, incited Georgia to behave as it did. Was Syria’s stand the result of the traditional friendship between the two countries? And how do you see the future of Syrian-Russian relations, especially since Russian weapons were one of the results of your visit to Moscow?
President Assad: In regard to Syria’s position towards Russia, I recall that Russia has always stood beside us. It was therefore natural that we should stand beside it in the first crisis confronting it. Most of the countries allied to the United States have said that this war was, directly or indirectly, provoked by America. Can one imagine that Georgia would unleash a war against Russia of its own accord? This is something that requires no analysis. That is why we opposed this war, and it was natural that we should be against the side which started it. This corresponds to our principles.
In regard to our relations with Russia, they were warm and they have become more so. As for weapons, they are the object of contracts concluded between us and Russia. It is natural that during our visit, we should have raised military questions and the means of reactivating cooperation between us, especially since Russia has become independent since the accession of President Putin to power. Russia continues on the same path, and it will reinforce its historic relationships with its old allies.

Monday Morning: Political differences among the Palestinians and the abortive attempts to reestablish contacts between the various factions have accentuated the painful situation and frustration in which the Palestinian people live. Do you think this is the consequence of the dispersion of Arab ranks, and what can Syria do as current president of the Arab summit to remedy this situation?
President Assad: First of all, they are paying the price of internecine Palestinian divisions even more than that of inter-Arab dissensions. We acted to remedy this during the summit, and before the Mecca Agreement we played a fundamental role in this regard. As I have said, we await the visit of President Mahmoud Abbas to see what we can do. We cannot allow this Palestinian situation to continue since it has repercussions on all Arab countries.

Syria and the economy
Monday Morning: Two years ago Syria began to take practical measures for a progressive transformation into an “economy of the social market”. What is the role of the state in this economy, and does it guarantee equity in the distribution of property? Is this a Syrian innovation and has it given tangible results?
President Assad: It is applied in a number of countries, Germany among them. This economy is supposed to prevent monopolies and profiteering so that the poor, or those of limited income, are not excluded from the social and economic framework. The role of the state is exercised in the social sphere, and there are special funds to protect the financially-disadvantaged. Various funds have been established to benefit the various levels of society. We are now at the beginning of this experiment and in a transitional phase. We have been confronted by the [economic] siege and regional events that are not favorable to investment, in addition to other difficulties such as the increase in international prices which have harmed poor countries in general, and we have been affected by it.

Monday Morning: Mr. President, it is well known that you are deeply concerned with renewing Syria’s national life, improving the economy and raising the people’s living standards. Statistics show an improvement in economic indicators and the rate of growth. But Syrian citizens sometimes say they have not yet felt any tangible results of this policy. How do you reply?
President Assad: It’s a challenge confronting the state. We can’t say the citizens have not benefited and that the advantages of this policy have not been generalized. The big challenge lies in finding how to enable the largest part of the population to benefit. This depends on the development of the mechanisms of governance and the struggle against corruption.

Monday Morning: Mr. President, the struggle against corruption has been one of your top priorities. Has your campaign against it been a success?
President Assad: We have taken wide-scale measures to combat corruption and we have had great successes in this respect. But the true reform will be achieved when we improve administrative practices, and at that moment corruption will diminish. It is a permanent war against corruption in favor of the law, order and the public interest.

No to privatization
Monday Morning: According to Syria’s Central Bureau of Statistics, the contribution of the private sector to the gross domestic product in 2007 rose to more than 65 percent. Do you expect a great increase in the size of the private sector and a decrease in the public sector? Will Syria have recourse to privatization?
President Assad: The private sector has taken great steps forward, but there has been no fallback in the public sector, which has a fundamental role in political and economic terms. It must continue in order to safeguard political and economic stability in Syria. That is why the matter of privatization will not be broached in Syria. And if we place the political aspect to one side, we can say that it is not suitable from the economic point of view. We envisage a development of the public sector while at the same time supporting the private sector. Practical measures have been taken recently to develop the public sector.

Monday Morning: During the siege that the Franco-American side tried to impose on Syria, it was proposed to Your Excellency to choose between Saddam Hussein and Moammar Kadhafi. How do you see your position today?
President Assad: That depends on whom we’re being seen in relation to [the president said, laughing]. We address people according to their understanding and advise them to learn from their failures. And their basic failure is not having known how to read reality, either because they can’t read it or because they don’t understand it. They should have someone teach them to read.

Monday Morning: Where does Syria stand today in regard to what is happening in Iraq?
President Assad: We stand beside those who strive for the unity of the Iraqi land, and everyone should be in favor of the Arabism of Iraq. But as you know, there is no American desire to support the political process and give the government the authority needed if it is to undertake a wide-scale political action and bring the Iraqis together.

The financial crisis and Arab money in America
Monday Morning: Some observers say that the economic and financial crisis in the United States is not directed against the American interior but against Arab money in America. What is your view?
President Assad: There have undoubtedly been large Arab losses evaluated in the billions of dollars because shares have lost so much value.
What interests us now is the result. The holders of capital know how they have lost their money. We have suffered harm from an economy which, according to some observers, has lost the confidence of many investors in the world. This impels us to invest more and more in our own region.

Monday Morning: It is a question of reconciling governmental support for the citizens with support for certain economic sectors. The government has removed part of the subsidy on the price of fuel and compensated for this by payments in cash. Does this procedure seem valid to you, and does the government intend to make it a general practice?
President Assad: We began to apply this policy last May and it’s still early to ascertain the consequences or to judge this experiment, which is a new one. When negative aspects appear, modifications will be necessary.

Monday Morning: Mr. President, you have promulgated laws and decrees and taken decisions aimed at attracting external investments and enhancing the favorable climate for those investments in Syria. Do you believe you have succeeded in this, and have the investments been on the level of your expectations in regard to their dimensions, nature and targets?
President Assad: Yes, we have undoubtedly had achievements, and the figures confirm this. The obstacles are no longer the same as in the past. But we are confronting other obstacles that we must eliminate them in various areas in relation to administrative measures. Most of the investments come from Arab sources and they won’t come without an atmosphere of peace in the Middle East. Our preparations and predictions must be in this framework.

Monday Morning: Mr. President, we thank you for your welcome and your patience. We would like to end with your views on the Syrian media, which has definitively improved in regard to form, subjects and good management, especially after the private sector was introduced into it. There are dozens of private magazines and newspapers as well as radio and television stations. Are you satisfied with the present situation of the Syrian media, and what do you envisage for the future?
President Assad: When you speak of a process of development, it is not permitted to be satisfied with what has been achieved. Satisfaction causes you to stop midway on the path while everything around you is changing. There are now private media in Syria, and the public media have begun to evolve. There is movement forward which can be slow or rapid. But it is certain that we are progressing in this respect.

Monday Morning: To return to the subject of Lebanon, Mr. President, there has been a great deal of talk in the Lebanese street about prisoners, persons who have disappeared or been incarcerated. What can you comment on this subject?
President Assad: A mixed Lebanese-Syrian commission has been working to resolve this subject. Most of those who have disappeared are not in Syrian prisons for having broken Syrian laws. Prisoners are incarcerated to make compensation for a fault committed. We have persons detained belonging to various nationalities, but it’s necessary not to confuse the prisoners with the disappeared. The matter of the disappeared goes back to the time of the Lebanese war, and they want to hold Syria responsible for the people who went missing during the war. Anyway, the mixed commission is studying this matter in cooperation with the Lebanese and Syrian sides. This subject presents no problem, and when results are obtained, they will be made public.